Enrique Iglesias – Sida 2 – WelcheMusic.com

Swedes Take Nicole Scherzinger to UK No.1 Spot

CHART SPOTLIGHT. The two Swedish producers Rami Yacoub and Carl Falk take ex-Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger to the top of the UK singles chart this week. “Don’t Hold Your Breath” is Scherzinger’s 16^th hit. According to Music Week, all of them were Top 20 hits.

A demo of the track was recorded by Keri Hilson and Timbaland, but it wasn’t officially released.

Pussycat Dolls managed to place two hits at No.1 – “Don’t Cha” and “StickWitU.” Yesterday saw the release of Scherzinger’s debut album Killer Love, which had already rendered two singles. The Enrique Iglesias collaboration “Heartbeat” peaked at No.8, while “Poison” reached No.3.

Back to the Swedes. Rami Yacoub is no stranger to chart success. In 1998, he co-wrote “…Baby One More Time” with Max Martin. Rami has produced artists such as Backstreet Boys, Céline Dion and Enrique Iglesias. Carl Falk has worked with artists such as The Wanted, Jennifer Rush, Nick Carter and Westlife.

Chris Brown Makes It Three

CHART SPOTLIGHT. Chris Brown currently climbs the Swedish singles tally with “Yeah 3x.” Originally issued in October last year, the track has amassed one million downloads in the US.

Everyone’s not happy about the success. A bitter tweet by producer Calvin Harris addressed that Brown stole the hook from his 2009 hit “I’m Not Alone.” “Yeah 3x” was the first single to be lifted off his fourth set F.A.M.E. It is actually Chris Brown’s second biggest hit in the UK ever. The track climbs 8-6 this week (13/3) and could very well beat the No.4 peak of “Forever” back in 2008.

Brown got his breakthrough back in 2005 with “Run It” which hit the No.1 spot in the US. In 2007, he secured another chart-topper with “Kiss Kiss” (feat. T-Pain).

In 2008, he managed to get a world-wide hit with “No Air” together with Jordin Sparks. Chris Brown currently has two hits in the UK top 10 – “Champion” (No.6) and “Yeah 3x” (No.8).

Nicole Scherzinger Takes on Swedish Hitmaker

Ex-Pussycat Dolls vocalist Nicole Scherzinger is back with the new hit single “Poison.” Produced by Lady Gaga hitmaker RedOne, the single bows at No.3 on the UK singles tally. Unable to de-throne The X-Factor Finalists 2010 and Ellie Goulding who remain atop and No.2 with “Heroes” and “Your Song.”

Scherzinger’s previous hit was the collaboration with Enrique Iglesias on the No.8 UK hit “Hearbeat.” The track failed to crack the Hot 100, despite being available on download in the States. The new single, “Poison,” will appear on the Scherzinger’s upcoming album.

The only other new entry on the UK singles tally’s top ten is “Who’s That Chick” with David Guetta and Rihanna. The Barbadian vocalist occupies the No.7 (“Only Girl”), No.8 (“What’s My Name”) and No.9 slot (“Who’s That Chick”). Take That’s Progress remains at No.1 on the album chart, while Olly Murs eponymous album bows at No.2.

Max Martin and RedOne Rule Billboard Hot 100

WelcheMusic regularly covers Swedish songwriters’ success Stateside and today our national newspaper Expressen notes that five songs in the top 10 involves either Max Martin or RedOne. Neither one of them enjoys their first glimpse of success, but this is one of few weeks where their dominance is so great.

Expressen’s music editor Anders Nunstedt compares this phenomenon to five out of the top ten Hollywood’s box office hits being Swedish, a most unlikely event. WelcheMusic reveals that although Americans embrace the hits below, Swedes are more reluctant. Only one of the tracks has actually made it to the top ten – Katy Perry’s collaboration with Snoop Dogg (“California Gurls”). Taio Cruz’s “Dynamite” is on its way to break the top 20, and the track vaulted into No.1 in the UK only a few days ago.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9_n8jakvWU&ob=av2e]

The chart positions in brackets denotes current position on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as the peak position in Sweden.

Taio Cruz – Dynamite (2/21)
Katy Perry – Teenage Dream (3/33)
Enrique Iglesias feat. Pitbull – I Like It (4/30)
Usher feat. Pitbull – DJ Got Us Fallin’ in Love (5/31)
Katy Perry feat. Snoop Dogg – California Gurls (8/8)

Max Martin has collaborated on four of the tracks above, with the exception of Enrique Iglesias “I Like It.”